Published on Jul 3, 2013
Once upon a time in India there was this very dangerous man named Gandhi, and he said “Truth never damages a cause that is just.” Corporate citizens, however, won’t allow truth to damage a cause that is just for us. That is why they have helped to insure that there have been no less than 17 rounds of secret negotiations for the Trans Pacific Partnership. So I am happy that the truth has not come out and I am even happier when I heard that the Chief Agricultural Negotiator for the United States is a former lobbyist for Monsanto…

I am talking profit with impunity! Remember those good old Monsanto products like Agent Orange, PCB’s and DDT’s? Well now Monsanto has outdone itself by going balls to the wall on genetically modified organisms! In India, Monsanto introduced a genetically modified cotton seed that caused quite a stir in the farming community. The financial yield on the new plants is great, for us! But for the farmers– not so much. First– they are slightly more expensive– roughly 8,000 times more expensive– and second the seeds need a lot more water– and it needs special fertilizer, sold by Monsanto, and it needs special pesticide sold by Monsanto…so the farmers are going deeper and deeper and deeper into debt. But let me tell you the cherry on top– the seeds they sell are terminator seeds– they can’t be re-used– so the poor indebted farmer has to buy the seeds and the fertilizer and the pesticides every year!

The soul of Indian farming is all about re-using seeds but times are changing and Monsanto is leading the way. The TPP is going to bring this farming model everywhere…